UPDATE 2-Syria says U.N.'s Annan wrong about Tremseh killings

July 15, 2012|Reuters

By Marwan Makdesi

DAMASCUS, July 15 (Reuters) - Syria denied on Sundayaccusations by special envoy Kofi Annan that it used heavyweapons or helicopters in clashes in the village of Tremseh lastweek, saying his comments about the fighting, which activistscalled a massacre, were "rushed".

Jihad Makdissi, spokesman for Syria's Foreign Ministry, saidseat least 37 fighters and two civilians were killed in clashesduring a security force campaign against the town in centralHama, from which the government said rebels were launchingattacks on other areas.

Activists' estimates of the death toll ranges from 100 to220, many of them whole families in the village of Tremseh,where United Nations monitors say there was heavy fighting onThursday.

"Government forces did not use planes, or helicopters, ortanks or artillery. The heaviest weapon used was an RPG (rocketpropelled grenade)," Makdissi told reporters at a newsconference in Damascus.

"What happened was not a massacre ... what happened was amilitary operation. They were clashes between security forces,whose duty is to defend civilians, and heavily armed forces thatdon't believe in a political solution."

Syria has become mired in a bloody revolt against PresidentBashar al-Assad that is now in its seventeenth month. Someforeign officials now say the uprising that began as streetprotests has morphed into a civil war.

So far, video published by activists said to be from thesmall village has shown blood drenched and burned corpses ofyoung men, who could have been rebel fighters.

Makdissi also responded to reports of the desertion ofGeneral Manaf Tlas, a member of the Assad inner circle, sayinghe "left without permission". It was the first governmentacknowledgment of his disappearance, but Makdissi did notcomment on reports that Tlas defected to the opposition.

The desertion of Tlas, a cadet college classmate andpersonal friend of Assad, was one of the first signs earlierthis month of cracks appearing in a governing elite that hadpreviously looked unshakeable.

While the United States and its European and Arab allies arewary of rebel forces in Syria, which have proved fractious, theyhope an erosion of support for Assad within the elite may intime allow for a political transition without him.

STATE OF DEFENCE, NOT ATTACK

Special envoy Annan, who is leading efforts to implement apeace initiative in Syria, said on Friday that Syria hadviolated its commitments to U.N.-backed peace efforts.

"I am shocked and appalled by news coming out of the villageof Tremseh, near Hama, of intense fighting, significantcasualties, and the confirmed use of heavy weaponry such asartillery, tanks and helicopters," he said in a statement.

"This is in violation of the government's undertaking tocease the use of heavy weapons in population centres and itscommitment to the six-point plan."

Makdissi rejected Annan's accusations, which were repeatedin a letter sent to Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem

"The least that can be said about this letter about whathappened in Tremseh is that it did not rely on facts. Asdiplomatically as possible, we say that this letter was veryrushed," the spokesman said.

Makdissi said statements on Saturday from a group of UnitedNations observers sent to Tremseh confirmed Syria's version ofevents. The group said the violence appeared to be attackstargeting rebels and opposition activists.

But their report also said artillery and mortars were used,and the head of the monitoring mission said a day earlier thatmonitors in the province had reported use of helicopters andindiscriminate fire.

Makdissi said accusations of a fierce attack wereimplausible given the tiny size of the village.

"Everything that has been said on the use of heavy weaponsin an assault on a village no bigger than 1 km squared iscompletely untrue," he said, denying that villagers weretargeted. "We are in a state of self-defence, not a state ofattack."